Cloud C.A.R.E. Project
As someone who has struggled with mental health, I think it is crucial to create an empowering community where everyone can contribute their ideas and creative works without subjection to judgement. Art was always my chosen form of therapy growing up. I can still remember wearing one of my mom’s old oversized t-shirts and lining the table with newspaper so that I wouldn’t get paint everywhere. For me, art is a way of expressing myself because some emotions cannot be encapsulated by words
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Image Description: A black continuous line with small white specks taken out. The line depicts two faces on a white background, one mirroring the other. In the center, they intersect and overlap. At the bottom end of the line, they diverge and black specks pour out.
Art has always been a passion of mine. My notebooks can always be found with doodles on every page. I often use art as an outlet for when I cannot express how I feel through words. It calms me during anxiety attacks, cheers me up when depression brings me down. Without art, I am not me.
Talking about anxiety and depression is not just hard for men to talk about but generally looked down upon. This #CloudCare project is not just a safe space for men to open up anonymously but rather giving them courage to let it out. The more you let it out, the better you feel. It is okay to cry and be afraid.
Undergraduate GSWS and Psychology major. Interested in relationship anarchy, rates of IPV in queer relationships, and fat studies. First in line for surgically attached cat ears in the transhuman cyberpunk future.
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Image Description: A greyscale photograph of a cartoon person drawn on printer paper. The person has glasses, and cat ears. They are making a thumbs-up gesture, and their expression is a cat smile. The hair and body are coloured with black acrylic ink, and the lines are drawn with alcohol marker.
I have always loved making art and it's always been an escape for into a different, and yes, better, world. As a kid, I read books in the car, under the covers, after lights out. I read books as a countercultural activity. Now I write as a way to understand myself and as a way to understand the ways the world works. Writing is detective work and a form of activism. Writing can change the world and help us revise
our histories.
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Estephanie (she/her) is a proud nerd, activist and mental health advocate. Art has always had a special place in her heart no matter the type. As an individual who lives with Severe Depression and General Anxiety Disorder, she has found that art is an excellent way to escape and serves as an outlet to express herself in a manner that words cannot. Estephanie is proud to be a part of the CloudCARE project and hopes to help make it a safe space for all.
Kluane (she/her) is a dance artist and SFU arts student based in Vancouver, BC. On top of dancing, Kluane enjoys drawing, painting, music and other performance arts. Practicing lots of different arts helps her to take time for herself, be present, and appreciate small details. Art was an important part of her early schooling, and the importance of having an arts practice has been prominent in her life since she was a child. She hopes that this project can bring the benefits of practicing art to even more people, and that #CloudCARE can help to develop a strong community by bringing people together through arts based practices.
Mental health is a topic which lies close to my heart, and art in its many forms is an escape when I find myself feeling sad, anxious, or overwhelmed. Art is also an avenue which enables me to express and explore difficult emotions when I cannot find the words. For me, art is best done with a coffee in hand, while accompanied by my two dogs (who very often become my artistic inspiration). Art can be a wonderful and healthful form of self care, and my hope is that this platform provides people with the opportunity to explore a therapeutic approach to art making.
Our mission is to create a safe, inspiring community where people can express themselves through art during times of distress and uncertainty
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We acknowledge that SFU teaches and operates on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the Tsleil-Waututh (sÉ™lÌ“ilwÌ“É™taʔɬ), Kwikwetlem (kÊ·ikʷəƛ̓əm), Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw) and Musqueam (xÊ·mÉ™θkÊ·É™yÌ“É™m) First Nations. These peoples began practicing traditional art on these lands long before settlers came to “Vancouver,” and we want to honour the rich history and significance of these arts practices.